


the smell of fresh paint

by watchmyback



Series: sasusaku month [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 02:18:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1881381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watchmyback/pseuds/watchmyback
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>sasuke has trust issues, and sakura has a new dress.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the smell of fresh paint

**Author's Note:**

> last minute drabble bc I was totally oblivious to the arrival of ss month...whoops. sincerest apologies for whatever this is!

 

Itachi Uchiha had picked Sasuke up from school.  He had poked his forehead and teased him. And he had murdered their entire clan right before his beloved brother’s eyes.  Because Sasuke trusted his big brother more than anyone else; when he defected, Sasuke trusted no one.  

From that point on, the cruel echoing of loneliness filled most of his childhood.  He had carried it with him through the years, a perfect match for his lack of trust.  Nothing he did could be slowed down by the inconsistencies others provided.  It was simply easier this way.

“You don’t trust me.”  

Looking at Sakura’s face, Sasuke began to wonder if this way was preferable.  

Her sentence was still ringing in the air from where she stood, framed by the doorway, with gloved hands fisted at her sides.  She glowed with anger, and yet she seemed wholly defeated.  

The outside breeze blew in the scent on her dress, just as it had at their argument’s start.  

Fresh paint.  

Only one person they knew regularly smelled like fresh paint.  

It felt like the wooden slats of the floor beneath him were slipping out from under his feet.  It was no great mystery to him that he had never deserved the level of love Sakura gave him.  Selfishness, however, was an entirely different beast; even if he had never deserved Sakura’s love, he wanted it just for himself.

And now she’d come by his house, smelling like she’d slept on top of his replacement.  Unsurprisingly, when he’d said as much, she’d tried to laugh it off.  He hadn’t smiled.

And that’s where things had taken a turn for the worse.  Now, he couldn’t face her anymore; the smell was suffocating him, he had to escape, to…

“Sasuke.”

Mid-step, her gloved hand was caught his wrist.  He briefly reflected that he could have easily avoided capture; he was still faster than she was.  But he didn’t want to.  He supposed he was simply a masochist where his pink haired teammate was involved.

“I didn’t stay with Sai.  I spent the night at Ino’s, just like I said.”

He could still smell the paint on her.  Every seed of doubt saying she was too good for him had suddenly sprouted in his mind’s eye.  It all seemed so infuriating, so patronizing.  Of course, why would she stay with him when-

She dashed in front of him, so quickly that a soft breeze rustled his hair, and she met his eyes.  Her hand was still clinging to his.  Her hands were warm to the touch.  His cold bones shivered.

“I love you, Sasuke.  And I want you to trust me.”  The shyness of her schoolgirl days was long gone.   Sakura had been all fire, all warmth, for quite some time now, and she was determined to let her flame glow.  

He loved that about her.  He loved her.  

When he met her eyes, he found that they were swimming in tears.  Before trust, before the repercussions came to mind, the words came tumbling out of him.

“I’m sorry...” he felt himself collapse into her for support.  The scent burned his nostrils as he buried his face into her shoulder.  His body felt a little lighter when she wrapped her arms around him.  He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but she never wavered.

“The dress is Ino’s,” she whispered, hours later, from where she lay in his lap.  He simply stared, waiting for her to explain.  “She went out with Sai the other night.”  

And he understood.  She wanted him to understand the situation, but moreover, she’d wanted his trust.  And he began to truly want to give it to her.

It seemed that he was finally getting used to teamwork.  


End file.
